Computer AIs not building improvements?

[Jeff Yu]

I've been playing a modded game of Civ3, and I noticed that the computer AIs aren't building ANY terrain improvements whatsoever. Even into the middle ages, the 15 other computers still haven't built any roads, mines, or irrigation, nor cleared any jungle even in cities that have all 20 squares covered with it, and from looking at the trading screens, it seems like the computers are keeping their workers at their capitals. I haven't changed the rules much. I just adjusted some of the tile properties so that desert and tundra doesn't have food, and so that hills can be irrigated. The only change I made to workers is to turn off the option to build railroads. (Which I feel are unbalancing and unrealistic)

 

[TedG]

In order for the "terraform" AI strategy to be checked, all of the worker abilities (except "build city") also have to be checked. So if you took away one of those abilities, the AI will no longer use the terraform strategy for workers. If you want to effectively eliminate railroad-building, just go the the worker jobs page and give "build railroad" an incredibly high # of turns to complete. I don't know if the AI will still try to build them if you make it cost, say, 100 turns, but the AI will at least build other improvements.

 

[Ed O'War]

You can also just give the railroad worker job a different technology requirement. Instead of Steam Power, have it require Integrated Defense. That way it will be very late into the game before anyone can start building railroads.